Firearms have existed in some form for hundreds of years. As technology progressed, firearms developed from single shot muskets to pistols and rifles capable of storing and handling multiple rounds during a firing session. While single-action revolvers, pump-actuated rifles, bolt-action rifles, and other firearms required some additional manipulation to move between spent rounds and live rounds, other semi-automatic or automatic firearms were developed that automatically discharge a spent round, load a new round in a firing chamber, and cock a firing pin without additional steps carried out by the person shooting the firearm. Often times spring loaded magazines or clips of ammunition are used by these firearms to feed another round into the firing chamber after a spent round has been ejected. When all of the rounds of the magazine have been used, the magazine can be disengaged from the firearm, and another magazine holding live ammunition can be inserted into the firearm.
While the actual method of disengaging a magazine from a firearm can vary widely between different styles of firearms, many firearm manufacturers developed a spring-loaded mechanism positioned on one side of the firearm that when activated would release a mechanical device retaining the magazine in the firearm. This mechanical retaining device advantageously holds the magazine of ammunition in the firearm so that movement of the firearm and forces placed upon the firearm during practice or combat will not unexpectedly cause the magazine to be separated from the firearm. The developed magazine release mechanism allows the mechanical retaining device to securely hold the magazine while providing a means to quickly release the retaining device so that a magazine may be removed when empty and replaced with another magazine loaded with ammunition. In some firearms, when the magazine release mechanism is activated, the magazine will drop from the firearm due to gravity when the firearm is oriented in a substantially horizontal position with the magazine facing downward.
However, the placement of magazine release mechanism on only one side of the firearm can cause complications for certain persons operating the firearm. For example, if the magazine release mechanism if located on a right side of a firearm, and the shooter is firing the firearm with his or her left hand, the magazine release mechanism may be difficult and slow to operate because it is not easily accessible by the shooter's left hand. Here, the shooter may need to remove either their left hand from the firing grip or their right hand from the barrel hand guard to activate the magazine release mechanism. While this process may work to disengage the magazine, it has a number of problems. For example, in combat situations, the configuration of the firearm requires an operator using a left handed shooting grip to either remove their trigger hand or control hand to both release the magazine and retrieve a new magazine. This greatly slows the magazine changing process and may be less safe because of the extra steps required of the hand being removed from the firearm to activate the magazine release mechanism. Here, the time required to remove a magazine may leave one defenseless long enough to be shot by an attacker. Keeping the muzzle of the weapon pointed in a safe direction can prove to be more difficult when removing either hand from the firing position to activate the magazine release. This is especially true for new operator's less familiar with the weapon.
Additionally, a frequent issue with the process of rapidly-firing firearms using spring-loaded magazines of ammunition is the occurrence of jams during the ejection and feeding cycles. Jams often occur because a round is not correctly ejected or loaded into the firing chamber, or when multiple rounds are simultaneously fed from the magazine toward the firing chamber. When a firearm jams, the jam must be cleared before the firearm will be operational again.
In many firearms, clearing a jam requires multiple steps that require both hands of an operator. For example, clearing a jam on a semi-automatic rifle for a right handed operator may require the steps of (a) removing left hand from firing position on barrel hand guard, (b) grabbing the front of the magazine well with the left hand and placing the left thumb on the bolt catch, (c) removing the right hand from the firing grip, (d) pulling the charging handle to the rear with the right hand until the bolt locks, (e) returning the right hand to the grip, (f) pushing the magazine release button with the index finger of the right hand while removing the magazine with the left hand, (g) grabbing the front of the magazine well again with the left hand, (h) running the charging handle three times with the right hand, (i) locking the bolt to the rear with the left hand on the third time, (j) visually and digitally inspect the firing chamber using the right hand to clear out any obstructions, (k) returning the right hand to the firing grip, (l) retrieving and inserting a loaded magazine with the left hand, (m) pressing the bolt release with the left hand, and (n) returning the left hand to the firing position on the barrel hand guard.
While this standard process effectively clears jams in the chamber of the firearm, it has a number of problems. For example, in combat situations, the configuration of the firearm requires an operator to remove his or her right hand (the trigger hand) from the firing grip twice to pull the bolt back and charge the firearm during this standard clearing process. Removing the right hand slows down the clearing process and may be less safe because the right hand is displaced from the firing grip. Here, the time required to clear the jam may leave one defenseless long enough to be shot by an attacker. Additionally, in newer operators, the removal of the right hand may result in less control of the firearm. That is, instead of controlling the positioning of the firearm, including maintaining a safe direction of directing the barrel of the firearm, by maintaining contact on the firing grip, the current configuration of the firearm and standard clearing process lends itself to more careless control of the firing direction of the firearm in newer users. These and other issues are addressed by embodiments of the present concept.